The need for higher speeding system is increasing, particularly with the development of more sophisticated networks, multimedia applications and high speed communications.
The requirements are such that today 100 Gigabits switches will be more and more needed. Therefore, there is a need for particular protocol adapters that are well suited for operating in combination with high speed switches, even in wide multicasting mode; that is to say, when the cell is duplicated towards different output ports.
Asynchronous Transfer Mode (A.T.M.) Is an important state in the evolution of the digital telecommunications.
Prior art document "A Highly Modular Packet Switch for Gb/s Rates" by W. E. Denzel, A. P. J. Engbersen, I. Illiadis, G. Karlsson in XIV International Switching Symposium, October 1992, Vol. 2, page A8.3 ff. relates to a high-speed switching system.